It would be interesting to see what would happen if McCain were to choose Huckabee as VP. I think Huckabee in many ways was never taken seriously by the press and therefore was never given the same degree of scrutiny as Romney. But that would change if he were McCain’s VP. If the MSM gave Huckabee the same hostile shakedown it did Romney, it might not only sink McCain but also Huckabee’s future career as a leader in the GOP. Anti-Mormonism and Romney’s perceived lack of authenticity are nothing compared to Huckabee’s ethics record and court appointments.

Voters know that Romney as VP would not have significant decision making power, and would be subject to McCain as president. A Mormon VP is not significantly more objectionable than a Mormon HHS Secretary (Leavitt) or Secretary of Agriculture (Benson) or Secretary of Housing and Urban Development (George Romney). After Romney establishes a track record as a reasonable man and not a religious fanatic in the position of VP, the quantum of difference between being VP and being president will shrink. anyone who raises objections about the dangers of a Mormon in the White House will have difficulty explaining why being in the Oval Office is different, from a religious standpoint, to be in the VP office.

McCain and Romney supporters in the Southern primary states together generally outnumber Huckabee supporters. That joint appeal can help secure those states.

In the west, McCain should know that he is not going to get enthusiastic support in Utah and a number of other western states that supported Romney over McCain, unless he has Romney on the ticket. The interior West is the other wing of the GOP base, and ironically McCain, though from Arizona, needs Romney to secure the support of those states, where Romney’s support was greater than that for McCain and Huckabee combined. From a pure viewpoint of securing GOP voters, Romney is a much better choice than Huckabee.

Further, as the economic downturn gains more prominence, having Romney on his team will give McCain more credibility on economic issues, and he could effectively delegate to Romney interior issues related to the economy while McCain concentrates on national security and foreign policy. Romney could make McCain smarter on those issues, and McCain could educate Romney on military and international affairs. Romney is smart enough to be able to take advantage of the first class education available in the White House.

Again, it will take McCain a large dose of humility and intelligence to make a choice of Romney, a man who, just by being around, will potentially outshine McCain. My impression is that McCain has never let rational political considerations get in the way of his ego. So a Romney VP candidacy seems less likely than not, even though I think it would be a smart strategy.

I will not leave it to them that they will continue being quiet about Mitt if he indeed is picked to be on McCain’s ticket. We will see the rush of anti-Mormon attacks from MSM as we have seen for the most of 2007.

I’m not normally a vindictive person, but honestly I would love to see Mitt on the ticket as VP just because it would bug Huckabee so much. And then again, maybe it would be beneficial to Mitt as well. It’s hard to know. I don’t think it’s good to be on a losing ticket, but maybe Mitt could be an advantage.

If the democrat ticket has Obama, at least past polygamy won’t be an issue in the campaign for Mitt since Obama’s father is/was a polygamist–which fact strikes me as slightly hilarious.

When it does… I expect the worst.

It would be a very different story if Romney was the VP pick. I think it extraordinarily unlikely that that will happen, given that (a) Evangelists are a much bigger part of the electorate than Mormons; and (b) the antipathy between McCain and Romney is considerable. Too bad.

I think the reason so little ink is being spilled over Romney as VP is that everyone else thinks it is extraordinarily unlikely, too.